Combination bed and couch



Aug. 2, 1927.

, H. MANOTT ET AL COMBINATLON BED AND COUCH Filed Aug. e, 1924 APatented Aug. 2, '1927.

UNITED* STATlltiQSfy IIARRY MANoT'r ANDJoHN HENRY MQGRA'LH,orfMELnoURNE, VICTORIA, AUSTRALIA i l 1,637,493 ien.TENT roi-*Ficil;4

COMBINATION :BED AND couCH.

Appiieation sied August 6,-`1e24,seriai No. 730,465, mani Austraiia May a, 1924.

The object oit the present invention'isto provide as a composite article koi furniture ran improved combination bed and couch' which includes a spring mattress and may be readily converted from its couch form to serve as abed whichwill oiier a maximum oticom'fort and reposefto the user.' The `spring mattress is carried by, a suitable frame or supportI which when f in useas a bed isdi'sposed horizontally above the seat `portion of the couch and'is capable oli' being swung upwardly and backwardly therefrom f yandretained in the latter position to form the ybaclr rest oftliecouchwhen the spring mattress is not required. Means are also provided whereby thebedding laid over the spring mattress in conventional manner is f when not in use despite `the upward inove ment of the mattress with the bedding there` on. To etllect this latter purpose tlieni-.it-y trees rameis provided withend irames for members ywhich swing downwardly against ythe bedding and are held in such position to keep the' bedding in place whilst the mattressframe is iny its upstandingposition at the back of the couch.r i f A Referring to the drawingsjwhich form" part oil 'this' specification Figure lis a front elevation yof aconvertible bed and couch constructedin accordance v with` the invention, rthe ystructure being shown'.^ in yits couch'form. A portion ot the upholstery which covers the underside of the inattressframe is broken away for coiivcnience' of illustration.

Figure 2 is an end elevation looking from the lett `hand side o'l Figure l thespring mattress or couch back beii'ig'indicated by'j `iny a horizontal position. End `trames` hinged to the mattress trame. are seen in ktheir folded positionsi iii which they retain ythe bedding in positioniory use upon the spring mattress. A portion'of this iigure is broken away to show theV adjacent part ot the spring mattress 'K and'v its Jsupporting frame. f

Figureeis a' sectional endv View showing y the convertible article when in .usey as a bed.

f 'Figure 5'is a partsectional `front eleva-.f

"` tion showing the structure converted into `partment 7 byraising the seat.

bea. one @i the ena names is yindicated in a liolded attitude by broken lines.

Figure 6 is a lsectional end viewy of a con vertible bedy and couch embodying certain kinnodiiications.y Accordingthereto thecoucli is furnished with hinged arm rests which are swung outwardly and downwardly. from their lnormal position preparatory to the loweringl of the couch back or Spring mat- .Figuref is a ybroken front elevation of :the structure seen in yFigure 6. The left hand part of the ligure shows the spring mattress in a horizontal attitude for sleepyretained in proper position yon saidV mattress ing purposes, the adjacent arm `rest of the vcouch' being swung downwardly into an inoperative position. lInt-he right hand partr ol thev figure the spring mattress and the adjacent arm rest of the couch are seen in la. vertical position.

' Figure 9 is a broken crosssection on an enlargedscale of the spring mattress and f its -frame as shown in Figuresv l 'to 5.

According to the invention the improved `convertible article includes a couch compriskinga,seatstructure carrying a seat-2 and provided with suitable' supporting legs or members 3 yat Ieach end. Transverse feet ory base members 4 areprovided at each end of the couch, these feet being adapted to rest upon the fioor andl being preferably pirovided with rearward extensionswhich project beyondthe rear ot' thecouch kas at 5 in order tocounterbalance the weight of the couchk back rest when the latter is in an upstanding position as hereinafter described.

,Beneath the seat 2, the seat structure is pref-` erably ofkr box-like formation and toprovide access to the compartment or compartments *7 formed `by this box-like structure hingedV 'or removable doors or panels 8 (Figures li` 5) may be provided. Or, ifd-esired, the seat 2 maybehinged as at 9 (Figure 6) to ture so that access may be had to the com- Q Spring elements 1l maybe iitted within'the couch seat 2 which may bek covered or yupholstered as at the'`r upper `rear part ofthe box-like strucf CII 10 in any suitable manner. Arm rests 12 as seen in Figures 1 to 5 may also be provided at each end of the couch. A

`The member which forms the back rest of the couch includes a mattress frame comprising longitudinal' side members 13 and j bed. The mattress frame may be supported what or adjacent the. lower side thereof. The

at each end to cross bars 19 which are sup in such horizontal positionby rests or stop members 1'? disposed at each end of the couch.

The springrmattress may, beof the well known woven wire type as indicated at 18 in Figures 1-,5 and is preferably attached ported at each side of the mattress. frame by suitable meanssuoh as brackets 21 pref erably of right yangle orcL section, these brackets being .secured to the longitudina membersor rails 13 ofthe mattress frame cross bars 1794 are preferably of lesser heigh than the side railsl of the mattress frame and the brackets 21 are so arranged'that the wire mattress 18 is stepped down or disposed beneath thel upper surface ofthe mattress framey sovthat the usual bedding indicated at 22L may beacCommOdated or partially accommodated Vwithin andbneath l,

the upper surfeceof said frame. One of 'the cross bars' 19l is secured to' its supporting brackets 21 whilst thel other lcrossbar rests freely upon the corresponding brackets 21 'and tension bolts 2OI may passl through the last mentioned bar 19 and the adjacenttransverse end member 14 of thek mattress frame v as seen in Figure 5 whereby they tension of the wire mattress 18 ,may bel adjusted according to requirements. f

' The hinged mattress frame is covered on 'its front orv underneath side by a suitable material such als fabric, leather or the like as indicated at 23 and such covering may be suitably padded or upholstered to, providea comfortable back rest when thev article is in, use. as a couch. 1 `This upholstered covering of the mattress frame thus hides the wire Vmattress 18 when the mattressk frame is swung upwardly to form the couch, backrest 'as seen in .Fig'ures 1 and 2.

Alternatively asseen in Figures 6i andr? ,thefspring mattress'fmay be formedpby coiled springs? 28 arranged between the upholstered vcovering23, which extends acrossthe front or under side of thefmattress frame, and a similar. padded or upholstered mattress covering 24 which extends across the upper or rear side of the mattress frame. In this embodiment the bedding is laid upon the spring mattress covering 24 instead of the woven wire mattress V18 as previously mentioned.

Attached, preferably by hinges 32, to the mattress frame at each end thereof, are end members or frames 33 which are adapted to swing or fold inwardly towards each other in a plane at right angles to the mattress frame or couch back when the article is to be converted from its bed to its couch form. The endframes 33 may beV thus laid fiat against the bedding22 at the rear or upper side of the mattress frame as shown in Figure 3 and in broken lines at the left of Figure 5, thereby retaining the bedding in its spread position upon the spring mattress 18 or 2e whilst the mattress frame is in its upstanding'position asin Figures 1, 2 and 6. The end frames 33 may be ofornamental or other 'desired construction and when the "article isin use asa bed they occupy a ertical position across each ,endr of the bed s seen in Figures and. 54 and at the left f Z so that ythe structure assumes the apiearance of an ordinary bedstead. If deired distance pieces 34 may be interposed etween the mattress frame and the end rames 3,3, thelatter being hinged to said list-ance pieces so, that when said end frames are in their folded positionthey are spaced f/,from the upper orrear side ofthe mattress vframe members 13k thus affording greater dept-h to accommodate the bedding Vas indicated by broken lines at the left of Figure 5.

Any 'suitable means may be provided to retain the end frames 33 in both their folded and upright positions as above mentioned. By way kof example the end frames maybe Asecured in their folded position by a thumb screw or the like 3G which outstands from one fof the frames 33, and passes through a slot 3T in an arm 38v which ishinged toA the other end frame. To retain the end frames Vin their upright position, a: wedge or catch member 39. may be carried at one end of a stem or shank Ll1 which is mounted to turn on t-he respectiye end frame and engages a corresponding wedge face or catch L12 formed on the underside ofthe adjacent arm rest 1 2. Or any other suitable form of catch for instance as indicated at; 431 inwFigure 7 may be employed to reta-in the end, frames int-heir upright position.

InI lieu of the fixed arm rests 12 shown in yFigures 1 to 5the couch may be provided with hinged armi rests 416 which may be padded o r upholsteredv as shown in Figures 6 and 7. The hinges 47 of these armrests are `attached tothe ends Of the couch seat structure. with their axes transversely of the couch similarly to the hinges of the end framesBS. The arm, rest-s 46 arefthus Caiii pable of being swungk outwardly and down-` wardly from their normal position as seen' ini Figure 6 and at the right hand side of Figure 7 into an out of the way position as shown at the left handside of Figure 7. The spring mattress frame or back rest, which is prevented from its axis 16, by the hinged arm rests 46 when the latter'are in their upright position, may then be lowered into a horizontal position for use as a bed. In this example the cross members 14 ofthe mattress frame may rest upon the top of the seat structure or legs 3 so that the mattress extends for substantially the full length of the couch seat and partk point kk16 so that it assume-s asubstantially horizontal position above the couch seat Q. lf the 'couch is provided with upholstered and hinged arm rests 46 as aforesaid such members'are swung downwardly about their hinges 47 preparatory to lowering the mattressframe or couch back. The end frames 1 33 are then released and swung upwardly into a vertical position which permits the usual pillows and bolster, indicated by broken lines in Figures 4 and 5 to be placed upon the bedding 22 which is retained in spread position on the spring mattress by the end frames 33 when the mattress is in its inoperative or upstandingposition as aforesaid,

To convert the bed into a couch the pillows and bolster may be removed and placed in the aforesaid compartment or compartments 7formed within the seat structure beneath the couch seat 2. The. end frames 33 are then folded inwardly and fastened in such posiinadvertently swinging forwardly and downwardly aboutk tures.

tion by the aforesaid screw y36 andy arm 38 or other suitable means so that they press upon the bed clothes and'retain them and e the bedding 22 securely t the mattress. The mattress frame is then swung upwardly yand *rearwardlyy into its raised position whereupon the article 1s ready for use as a couch the spring mattress and bedding 22 being entirely yhidden from view by the cover* ing material or upholstery 23 on the front or underneath face of the mattress frame.

The hinged arm rests 46 (if provided) are finally moved upwardly about their hinges 47 and locked in their upright positionby the fasteningmeans 4S, as aforesaid. The rearward extensions 5 of the couch feet 4 server to effectively counterbalance the weight yof the raisedmattress frame and thus prevent the couch from tipping backwardly.

Having now described our invention what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent isz y In a convertible bed and couch, a couch body having upstanding arms at its ends, each arm including a hand rail, and abaclr including an open frame pivotally mounted between said arms and adapted to be swung from an upright position at the back of the couch body to 'a lowered position resting ythereon between the arms, upholstery covering the front of said frame, a spring m0unted in, said frame and adapted to supportv ay mattress in the rear portion of the frame, and members pivoted to said frame and adapted yto be swung from anupright to a lowered position in overlying relation to the frame and a mattress carried thereby, latch rodsrotatably carried by said end members and having upper and lower arms and adapt ed to be rotated by the upper arms to move the lower arms into and out of position to engage beneath the handvrails of said arms n and retain 'the vend members elevated, and means to releasably secure the end'members lowered.v n y In testimonywhereof we aiiX our signa- HARRY MAN OTT. JNO. H@ McGrRATH.l 

